Solar Eclipse
by MissHusky
Summary: Lady and the Tramp, Pokemon style, starring Espeon and Umbreon! What happens when an Espeon, a pet of the rich family, experiences different life with a mysterious dark type who is considered to be evil by everyone?
1. Talk About a Lucky Break

Hello, MissHusky here, with my new story! Hope it's good and worth reading :D  
Unfortunately, I don't own Pokemon. The plot isn't really my idea either.

* * *

Jim Trewin was in a great hurry. The first Christmas with his new wife is tomorrow. Time sure flies. The only problem was he still didn't have a present for her. If he doesn't think of something soon, a disaster is sure to happen. As he was returning home from his office, he was quickly scanning the shop windows. There were some good things, fine jewelry, nice candy and similar things for women, but every single shop was so packed that he didn't want to go in. He just wandered around aimlessly some more, waiting to get more desperate.

Just to make thing interesting, the heavy snow started falling. White Christmas is good, but not when you're doing last minute shopping for your Darling. Jim could feel the time slipping away. For the first time, the beauty of his hometown didn't offer him any comfort. Big, quiet houses of rich families, perfect little backyards, fancy shops. Everything was always as neat as it could be. He enjoyed this little place separated from the world by huge ocean. Life on an island can be a bit isolated, but that was exactly what Jim wanted.

But in this moment, Jim would have given everything to be able to go back in time an plan a present. Money wasn't the problem, you couldn't live in that place if you weren't at least a bit rich, but he wanted to be original. Think, Jim, think...It was almost impossible to concentrate, since he didn't have an umbrella and he was starting to look like a snowman. It was cold and to top it off, the wind was blowing. He needed a miracle to get him out of this.

"Jim, my old friend, I haven't seen you in years!" Jim turned around, confused. He didn't recognize the voice, which belonged to his old school friend Charlie. Charlie was smiling as always. Maybe he is the miracle? Sure doesn't seem likely, since he never even had a decent relationship.

"Come in, come in, don't stand there in this awful weather." Charlie extended his huge arm and showed Jim in his new shop. "I'm just about to close, so we can have a little chat in peace." His voice was still loud and friendly. "What's wrong, Jim, why do you look so down?"

Jim's teeth were clattering from the cold, but somehow he managed to say something about Christmas present, being late and absolute disaster. Charlie tried to look like he understood. He always did that. Then he leaned into a chair, which made a dangerous sound, warning him about his weight. Jim knew Charlie would like to help, but he had no idea how. Then he glanced his watch. The closing time is approaching. Of course, no one would stay late at work on this day.

"Jimmy Boy, did you even notice what am I selling in here?" Charlie's grin looked victorious. He realized he was Jim's last hope.

Jim looked around. He didn't even care to look around when he first got in or to ask his old friend what kind of store that was. He just liked the idea of going away from the cold. On the shelves, there were many Poke Balls, each one carefully labeled. "Charlie, is this that new pet shop you opened?" Jim lied a little here. He had no idea what the man opposite of him had been doing over the past ten years. But a pet would make an excellent gift.

"Thought you'd never ask, Jimmy!" Charlie stood up and slapped him on the back so hard that he almost entirely lost his balance. "There's this little baby that just hatched yesterday. Wanna see her?"

"Of course!" Jim wasn't sure what kind of "baby" this could be, but if she was even marginally cute, she could be just the thing. Jim was tired, but luck sure did follow him on this one.

Light flashed and a brown creature appeared. Jim fell in love with her on the first sight. She had soft, fluffy fur and just the sweetest eyes. In a word, she was perfect. Jim didn't need much time to decide.

"Charlie, you're my savior! I'm taking her."

"Wait, friend, I haven't told you he best part about this little cutie." Charlie grinned, putting the Eevee back to her Ball. He slowly searched his drawers. "There." He gave Jim some papers. "Here are her favorite foods and habits, as well as the instructions on how to evolve her into six different Pokemon. So, even if your wife doesn't like her now, she can just evolve her."

Jim took the papers and frowned. Just when he wanted to pay and hurry home, something caught his eye.

"Charlie, you said it evolves into six different Pokemon, but there are seven of them listed here." Jim thought that was a pretty innocent question, but Charlie's expression was telling otherwise.

"You always lived under a rock, Jim. Do you even know we have a new major?"

Jim heard that, somewhere, but that wasn't important to him. Apparently, it was to the rest of the town, since the major ruled the whole island town almost all by himself. He remembered his wife talking a lot about this guy, but what was she saying?

"Hopeless as ever, are we?" Charlie sighed. "All right, I'll tell you the whole story."

"But I'll be late if I stay..." Jim's voice was uncomfortably quiet.

"I'm telling you this because you could have troubles with the law with that little Pokemon of yours." Charlie almost made Jim jump. As far as he could remember, he was always an honest person.

"Good choice. Now, you know that the major kept his promises from the campaign and completely banned Pokemon battles, right? So, don't try to battle. And don't keep the little one in the Poke Ball. I'll give you the Ball now, so your lady won't see her, but someone will probably go and check if you are treating her right."

Jim took mental notes. He heard about this before, but maybe he missed something. He remembered cheering for this new major when he said that Pokemon battles are for the low class who can't afford training centers for evolving Pokemon. Just to image that in so many places Pokemon battles are a number one activity. That must be horrible for the little angels. They belonged with the masters, in a nice warm house, playing all day without a care in the world.

"And he even went one step further." Charlie made no pause. He spoke whether Jim listened or not. "Poison and Dark types are officially forbidden to come to the island. Even Pokemon who are just part that type can't be here. They're evil and their presence only pollutes the streets." Charlie tried to imitate the major saying that, but he only ended up looking silly. Jim chuckled, but got interested in the matter.

"But what do they do with those Pokemon?"

"If they're wild Pokemon, they put them on cargo ships and send them far away. But if there aren't any such ships, then they just..." Charlie made a series of faces that explained every horrible detail of killing such creatures. Jim swallowed hard.

"But they can't do the same to Pokemon that already belonged to someone, right?"

"No, of course not. Do you know Oliver Milton?"

"Afraid not." Jim strongly disliked being asked about people he knew. Just because they lived in a small, closed community didn't mean he knew everyone and everything about them. Stereotypes, just stereotypes.

"Well, he was one of those bug collectors, he was really into it. Even I helped him get some more exotic creatures, you know? But problem with bugs is they're often poisonous. Of course, his little darlings wouldn't hurt anyone, but if everyone must get rid of evil types, he can't be an exception."

"And, what did they do to him?" Jim knew there was no way he could get home on time now, he just nervously awaited the moment when he'll find out what's all that got to do with the Pokemon that'll soon become his wife's pet.

"They gave him a choice, but it was more like an ultimatum, really. He had to either get rid of his bugs that were part poison type, or leave the island. Just yesterday, he came here to say goodbye before leaving the place forever."

"Forever?" Jim couldn't believe that some bugs could cause so much trouble. But if the major said so...He didn't know that much about Pokemon, maybe there were good reasons behind that law.

"Yeah, he said he was offended by everyone." Charlie yawned and Jim hoped he'd want to go home soon.

"About this Eevee you want." Jim became all ears as Charlie's voice lowered. "It is possible to evolve her into a dark type."

"What? How possible is that?" Jim almost turned pale as he imagined this little Eevee angel turning into a devil and doing something bad to his Darling.

"I'd say pretty impossible because you can only do that if you train her at night. But I'd suggest you evolving her as soon as possible, my guess is someone will check from time to time if everything is still under control."

Oh great. Why can't nice things just come without a catch? But pictures of the evolutions looked cute. And if Jim didn't take this Eevee, he would probably doomed. He was doomed already. It was so late.

"I'll be careful with the Eevee, I promise. Now, do you have some ribbon I can put around her neck?"

Charlie was relieved. Of course, he didn't tell or show any of that to Jimmy. He was just so happy to sell this last Eevee he had. Since they can evolve into a dark type, he won't be allowed to sell them anymore, only already evolved forms.

"Sure, friend. You won't regret getting this little baby. Just please, once you get her out of Poke Ball, don't return her there much. She sure won't like it."

"I don't know why would I ever return this cutie to her ball. Thank you, Charlie." After paying what he considered a pretty reasonable price, Jim returned to the cold wind outside. Now, to go home as soon as possible.

Jim almost didn't notice the cold, he was that happy. When he came to their beautiful, big house, he saw it was in the dark, heavy curtains on the windows. Then he remembered Darling telling him something about visiting her sick mother. perfect and even more perfect. She won't even notice he was gone for so long. Jim was tired. He carefully hid the Poke Ball in the basement, among his old fishing rods. Then he sighed. Fishing has been prohibited for so long as well. He really hoped the new major would fix that. Or at least he won't forbid some more fun things. Then again, there were some activities that weren't all that appropriate for the high class society like the one on the island. One can't have everything.

After coming out of the basement, Jim went straight to the living room and lit the fire in the big fireplace. The whole room became more pleasant and, what was more important, warm. The moment Jim made himself comfortable in one of the sofas, he heard someone opening the door. Darling was already at home. He immediately got on his feet to help her with the final preparations for the big day. He was excited about Christmas, just like he was a little boy again.


	2. Rules And More Rules

Little Eevee was so excited to be out of Poke Ball. Jim still couldn't believe how cute and perfect she was. He really wanted to let her explore the basement to her heart's content, but he had only a few minutes to place her in the special box with the ribbon around her neck. Since she was still a baby, she thought Jim wanted to play with her, so she took the ribbon and tried to cover herself entirely with it. She almost looked like a red mummy. Jim tried hard not to laugh. He didn't even care if she accidentally tore the ribbon. But Darling will come downstairs any minute. He had to present the gift in the best way possible, especially considering the fact that there was a catch.

Jim gently caressed Eevee's soft fur and she enjoyed it so much she relaxed, completely calm, for a second. It was the perfect opportunity. Jim clumsily tied a red bow around Eevee's neck and picked the Pokemon up. She didn't mind the ornament being wrapped around her, but being in the closed, dark box was a different story. Jim realized it was hopeless, so he just put her in the opened box and practically ran to the Christmas tree. Darling still wasn't there. He found a perfect place to sit down and wait. Sometimes, it was a good thing that women need so much time to get ready. Sometimes.

Eevee's eyes sparkled as they reflected the shiny decorations. Fortunately, she didn't want to inspect every item up close. She was probably tired, she was a baby after all. She gently nested in one corner of the box just as Darling was making her way to the living room. Won't be long now.

"Merry Christmas, Jim Dear." Darling looked gorgeous as ever. She kissed Jim and sat next to him. Her gift for him was carefully wrapped in green paper and neatly tied with a red bow. Jim tore the paper like a little boy and found a cologne that looked pretty expensive. He'd probably just save for some special occasion that'll never come, but he was so excited because he celebrated Christmas with his wife that he hugged her so tightly she stopped breathing for a moment. They laughed together at darling's comments about how much of a baby Jim was.

Then Jim slowly reached for his box. In her head, his wife scolded him for not putting the lid on the box, but then she looked inside and saw the cute little Eevee with a red ribbon. "Oh, Jim, she's just perfect. A beautiful little Lady." Eevee liked Darling from that very first moment. Everything seemed just perfect.

"Jim Dear, what's this?" Darling found a little booklet explaining Eevee's evolution with pictures and characteristics of each Pokemon it can evolve into. Jim left it in the box on purpose, so he wouldn't have to be the one to bring up this topic.

"And I wondered where I had put it." Jim snapped his sudden noise startled Eevee, who was gently nesting in Darling's lap. Darling petted her.

"Oh Jim, she is just the cutest thing, I do not think I want to evolve her. Right, little angel? Aren't you perfect just the way you are?" Darling put the booklet on the floor beside her. Jim sighed. He was afraid of this. But this was the true price of this present.

"I'm afraid we can't leave her this way. It is absolutely necessary to evolve this Pokemon. They told me so in the pet shop." Jim almost braced himself, awaiting reaction.

"Oh Jim, I hope this Pokemon isn't ill, so she needs to evolve in order..." Jim hated to interrupt darling, but if he didn't spoke then, he'd lost courage.

"Everything is fine with her health. It's just...it's possible for her to evolve into, you know...dark type." For the last two word, Jim lowered his voice as much as possible. He didn't truly believe that a certain type of Pokemon can be evil, but Darling didn't even allow saying the names of those banished types. If she wanted it that way, Jim found it easier to humor with her than explain his point of view. Since he didn't know anything much about Pokemon, his arguments sometimes just made no sense.

"Dear, why didn't you say so right away?" Darling reached for the booklet in such a violent way that she almost scared the Eevee away. "Let's see, maybe she can evolve into a ghost type..."

Ghost? In Jim's opinion, if something sounded evil, that would definitely be ghost type. Since he rarely showed any interest in what was happening in the community, Darling sometimes got angry with his questions, telling him to be more active in what happened around them. But this time, his curiosity was just too strong.

"I'm sorry to ask, Darling, but aren't ghost Pokemon supposed to be, you know, evil as well?"

Darling just looked at him and blinked a few times. Jim knew it would have been better if he had just kept his mouth shut. But it was too late now.

"How can ghost Pokemon be evil, Jim? Don't you remember the last year's Pokemon Show? You even took me there to see it."

Jim faintly remembered it. Pokemon shows were exhibitions where people showed off the beauty of their Pokemon. Every one of those high class Pokemon had its own hairdresser, stylist, make up artist, nutritionist and Arceus knows what else. Women of all ages were simply crazy about this thing and everyone wanted a Pokemon just so they could compete. But of course, no one could ever beat the mayor's wife. Jim thought that was all extremely boring. First of all, why compete when the winner would always be the same? And another thing was a secret Jim never told anyone. Secretly, he'd like to have a real Pokemon battle some day. All Pokemon at the exhibitions did was show off one or two weak moves they learned at the training center. Those moves could have been stronger, if only they allowed battling...

"Jim, are you even listening to me?" Great. He got lost in his thoughts, so he didn't hear a thing his wife was telling him.

"I'm all ears, just like every time you speak, my Darling." Jim kissed her hand. Eevee watched carefully, then she quickly licked the same spot. Darling giggled.

"So, after seeing that lovely little Misdreavus, how could anyone think ghost types are evil? You remember how gorgeous she was when she received the first prize, right, Jim?"

Jim remembered. Of course, he should have known. Mayor's wife had a ghost type, of course there was no way for the poor guy to label that type as evil. He felt a strange note of something familiar in that. then he looked at Darling, who was busy looking at the Eeveelutions. Then her eyes sparkled as she turned to her husband.

"Jim Dear, look at this one. Isn't it just perfect for our little Lady?"

She was really excited. It was a hint for Jim to be serious or else. He looked at the picture her wife was pointing at. It showed a slim, lilac Pokemon with a red gem on its forehead. The text under the picture said it was an Espeon, a psychic type with the ability to foresee the future. Jim had to admit, that did sound pretty cool, even though he secretly hoped his wife would pick a grass type evolution. He was always very fond of nature.

"And look at this, Jim Dear." Darling found another piece of information about Espeon. "One can only get an Espeon if the Eevee is mostly loved and trained during daytime." The fire in her eyes just seemed to get more intense. "With Espeon, I'll have a Pokemon that says how loved it really is. Maybe I could enter the show with her, what do you think? And what do you think, little Lady?" She showed the picture to Espeon-to-be. The brown creature put her paws on it and tried to take the Sun Pokemon out of the booklet. Jim and Darling laughed. Then the wife made a serious face again.

"It is not going to be easy to get an Espeon, Jim. You'll have to take her to the training center every day."

"It'll be my pleasure, Darling." He really meant it. Training Pokemon sounded fun and he always wanted to give it a try. With such a cute little Pokemon, he just couldn't wait to start. If only he could battle with her as well.

The couple enjoyed their Christmas. Darling's lunch was great es ever. Even Eevee agreed. They just couldn't resist her cute big eyes. She was a part of family already. Darling couldn't wait to show her to her friends. She was certain she got the best Christmas present this year. Jim knew what his wife thought, but he also knew she'd take good care of the Pokemon. And she looked beautiful when she was happy which was another bonus.

Great day was coming to an end and Eevee, as well as Jim and Darling, were getting sleepy. Jim showed darling a little bed made especially for the Pokemon. It was perfect for her. They wished her goodnight and closed the door. Darling was worried she'd get lonely, but Jim wanted them to show authority from the first day. It sounded a bit harsh, since she was very young, but she was a Pokemon, she could probably take care of herself even if someone attacked her.

In bed, Darling hugged Jim tight and thanked him again. At that moment, they both heard Eevee from a room downstairs. Jim went to calm her down and quickly returned.

He definitely underestimated Eevee's intelligence. She noticed that master would always come down, whenever she made noise. And no matter what he did with the door, she always found a way to get away. After escaping another one of the traps, she started climbing upstairs to play some more. To her, it was all just a game and she was almost entirely awake and full of energy. The stairs were trickier than she thought, since she was so small. It took a fair amount of time, as well as her strength, to climb. Then she used her nose to find the masters.

She didn't have to play with the door, to room was opened. She went inside and licked Darling's hand, which was hanging from the bed and woke her up.

"So you don't like being alone down there, right little Lady?" Darling petted the Pokemon who made the cutest faces.

"Jim Dear." She turned to her sleeping husband. "Lady is afraid, I say we let her sleep here just for the night."

Jim was half asleep and it was two o'clock in the morning. "Alright, darling, but just for the night." Then he turned and started snoring.

Darling put her little Lady by her feet. "Just for the night, you say? We'll see." The little Pokemon smiled to herself as she fell asleep.


	3. Sun and Moon

Exactly six months after the day when Jim said "Just for the night.", Lady woke up in their master's bed. She's been sleeping there ever since. Darling didn't want to hear about her sleeping somewhere else because she could get scared and then she won't be able to become an Espeon. Jim agreed, at first unwillingly, but after he started to enjoy it. He really bonded with Lady during her trainings. She was looking more beautiful every day. And stronger. She'll be a perfect Espeon one day.

The owner of the Training Center kept telling Jim how powerful and lovely his Eevee is becoming in a really short time. Behind closed doors, in low voices, they talked about how great battling Pokemon she could make. According to the program Lady was signed up for, she shouldn't learn any attacks, because an Eevee can't learn any damage-dealing psychic type moves. However, Jim thought learning attacks would only do her good, so they practiced Shadow Ball behind Darling's back. It was pretty easy, since she rarely came to the center.

Darling's task was to make sure Eevee looked good and stayed healthy. She took her grooming and massaging, often changing her mind about what was best for her Lady. She just couldn't get enough of her pet. Whenever she walked alone, she missed the sound of Eevee's soft paws on the ground, so she tried to take Pokemon for walks as much as possible. She once tried talking to a nutritionist, but a special diet was not really a possibility, since Lady always managed to get something from the table, using her cute big eyes.

On the mentioned day, when Lady was six months old, she woke up her masters as usual. It was Sunday, but the Training Center was always opened and she really wanted to go. Recently, she began to feel different after exercises. She couldn't quite explain it to herself, but she heard about evolution and she was excited to find out is this really what all that change could feel like. Lady wanted to evolve. It was mostly out of pure curiosity, but she had to admit that one of the reasons was she'd look so good as an Espeon. And psychic powers were cool.

Jim Dear and Darling tried to have their breakfast in peace, but Lady pretty soon interrupted it, demanding some desserts from the table. They looked at each other and smiled. They didn't really want it any other way.

"Oh, Jim, do you think Lady will evolve soon?" Asked Darling, as the mentioned Eevee drank some tea that masters gave her.

"All the Trainers at the Center tell me it's only a matter of days. Don't worry, Darling, soon there'll be no more police." Jim hugged his wife. Over the past few months, police came randomly to their house, demanding to see Lady. Since she could evolve into a dangerous dark type, it was their job to check on her every now and then. They were never nice and they were getting impatient, since it was much quicker and easier to evolve an Eevee with an evolutionary stone or a special rock. On their last visit, about a week ago, they were particularly rude. They gave Jim and Darling a month to evolve Lady or else they'll give their Eevee to the chief of police, so he could decide what to do. Darling was really frustrated with this.

"You know you can always count on Lady, Darling." Jim took Darling's hand. Little Eevee sat up straight, showing off herself. Darling smiled. "I have an idea." Jim continued. "Come to the Training Center today with us. Lady needs all the support she can get."

"It is just the greatest idea, Jim Dear." Darling looked really happy about that. Jim was also happy because he thought of the perfect explanation for that Shadow Ball. He recently found out it was a ghost type move and since Darling asked if Eevee can evolve into a ghost type, he could present this as their little surprise. Besides, a Pokemon will evolve faster if it has some moves to work on.

Lady was the only Pokemon at the Center when they arrived. Daniel, the owner, hurried to shake Jim's hand. They knew each other pretty well because Jim and Lady were there so often. "Hello Jim, hello Lady." Daniel patted the Eevee on the head. Then he noticed Darling. "Would you be Mrs. Trewin? Nice to meet you." Darling smiled and followed two men and her Pokemon to the battleground. Lady was excited to be there again.

"Are you ready, little one?" Daniel took out his stopwatch, ready to measure Eevee's speed. Lady ran like the wind. Espeon was, statistically, the second fastest Eevee evolution, so this made the perfect warm up. This time, Lady worked super hard because there was one more person who cheered for her. She set a new personal record easily and gracefully. Darling was so proud of her. "It's almost like I saw an Espeon running there for a second, she's just excellent." Said Daniel and he really meant every one of those words.

"Now, my Darling, you'll see that your Eevee has learned a very special move." Jim grinned. Darling wanted to object, but suddenly became silent as she saw lady heading to to center of the field, waiting for Daniel to prepare the targets. To make things more interesting, they tried with moving targets this time. Lady looked so focused, so determined. Darling had never seen her like that before. The targets appeared before Lady.

"Show them your Shadow Ball, girl!" Jim shouted a bit too loud. He enjoyed giving commands to Pokemon while imagining he was in a real battle. A little black ball of energy formed in Eevee's mouth and she shakily fired it at one of the targets. She missed.

Darling covered her mouth with her hands, speechless. Lady looked at her with her head down, ready to be scolded for doing that.

"Oh, Lady, you learned a ghost type move, it is just the most perfect thing ever!" Darling hurried to hug her little Pokemon. And then it happened. The thing that Lady missed was Darling's support during training. Now the Eevee could finally let that strange energy completely overflow her. She began to glow. Everything seemed like a dream. Lady could feel every part of her body becoming different, from paws to tips of her ears. Everything was over quickly. She felt different. Really, really different. Daniel brought her a mirror. Carefully, she examined every part of her, the new color of her fur and a different tail. She took a fair amount of time to admire her new eyes and a red gem on her forehead. Jim Dear and Darling looked at her in awe. Then she elegantly turned around to face the moving targets again. Taking a deep breath, she fired a Shadow Ball into one of them. A picture-perfect shot.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the small island, an Umbreon was gently awoken by the noise of departing ships. Just to make things clear, the noise itself wasn't gentle at all, but this Tramp was so used to them, he didn't notice them anymore. He crawled out of the old barrel he slept in and stretched. It was a day so beautiful that he almost wished he wasn't a banished creature considered evil and even deadly. But then again, he got used to his dangerous lifestyle. True, if he would ever get caught, things could become really horrible, but on the other hand, he had freedom.

Freedom really meant a lot to him. In that part of the town, among big, noisy ships and huge boxes of all sorts of cargo, there wasn't any of the cleanliness all the people from the town were so proud of. In their heads, that wasn't part of their island. That was good for Tramp and others like him. Those few men who even payed attention to them, didn't notice anything strange, because in their hometowns, dark and poison types were a perfectly normal thing.

The Umbreon smelled the air carefully and started walking around. He was hungry. Around this part of the island were many restaurants and motels that immigrants opened for sailors and workers, so one really saw anything bad in the dark type. In their eyes, he was like any other stray Pokemon. And everyone sure loved him a lot.

There was this one place Tramp was particularly fond of and it was Tony's. The owner, a funny fat guy who was once an aspiring musician, was particularly fond of Tramp as well. Sure, he was kind to all stray Pokemon, he had a big heart and always helped out everyone in need, but this Umbreon was special to him. He named him Butch, after an Eevee he had when he was a kid. Tramp was more than happy to answer to that name. Or any name. When people gave him names, it meant they got attached to him and he could get food from them whenever he wanted. It was just sometimes hard to keep up with all those names and nicknames.

"Butch" cheerfully walked to the back alley, to the back door of Tony's restaurant. He could hear him singing from quite a distance. Good old Tony, never losing his optimism, no matter what.

Tramp scratched the door and Joe, the assistant showed up. He liked "Butch" as well, but sometimes he thought Tony was overdoing things a bit, especially when he stated Butch was talking to him. But Tony was the boss and Joe's job was to obey, which was exactly what he did now, as he brought some leftover saved just for Umbreon.

Tramp quickly ate the meal and went for a quick stroll. As he approached one of his favorite spots by the old fence, he heard voices. No doubt, some Pokemon were in trouble. He knew about it. They all had their stories of how they were thrown out of their homes, pet stores, or just were unlucky enough not to have a home in the first place. Their misfortune made them friends and allies, so they always tried to help out each other, even if it meant just to put a smile back on someone's face.

Tramp looked and saw two of his friends locked by the Pokemon catcher, ready to be taken to the pond. Those nasty guys! Their numbers were increasing and the Pokemon were getting helpless. They needed each other's help more than ever.

Tramp didn't have any difficulties opening the cage containing two of his friends. True, he didn't have any psychic powers so he had to do it manually, but that was a perfect chance to show off his stealthiness. The two now free creatures looked to see who saved them. Tramp was almost blown away by Bull's loud laughter. The big Swalot really couldn't help it. He often got picked on because of being the stereotypical fat person and lately he started to accept it so he laughed even louder and walked even clumsier, but perhaps the latter was due to the fact he put on some more weight. He was silenced by Peg, the greatest singing star among stray Pokemon and Pokemon in general. This little Purrloin always tried to look her best and be cool. Especially when Tramp was around.

Umbreon saw clearly that Bull's extra fat and Peg's strutting won't get them far enough in time, so he had to act quickly. He bit the Pokemon catcher's leg and danced around him as he tried to catch him. By that time, he had definitely lost interest in Swalot and Purrloin and found himself a new catch. The only problem with that catch was that it was really fast.

Statistically speaking, an Umbreon is not supposed to be very fast. On the contrary, its speed is below average for an Eevee evolution. But from the moment he was born, Tramp lived on the streets and speed was very important in such situations. He chuckled to himself. This wasn't a challenge at all. Those stupid catchers didn't even use Pokemon to help them out. Most of those people weren't very skilled or very bright and they just wanted to be the ones who would clean the town once and for all. Unfortunately for them, no one gave them any credit, so they were mostly bitter and short-tempered.

This one was still very young so he could run a lot. But still not enough to catch Tramp, even though he chased him all the way to the fanciest parts of the city. He had finally given up and the black Pokemon found himself in a completely different surroundings. Wanting to prove to himself that his life is better than the ones of pets around here, he decided to stay here for some time and maybe meet someone from the high class.


	4. The New Shining Star

Little green electric type Pokemon was quickly moving toward the farthest corner of the back garden belonging to the huge house of his owners. No matter how much food he received every day, this Electrike inherited the stinginess of his ancestors and always kept every single bite he couldn't eat for "emergencies". He was persistent in doing this, even though all of his friends made fun of him, because most of the buried leftovers always got eaten by bugs. That day, he was in a particularly good mood. In fact, his mood was so good, he'd maybe even finally eat some of the tasty food he kept there. He licked his lips and felt electricity running through his fur.

"Hey, Jock!" The Electrike heard someone calling him. It sounded like Lady, his neighbor, but it was almost like her voice changed. He looked at the slim figure running towards him. No doubt, that Pokemon was purple and since Lady was an Eevee, it was impossible for her to be that color. What happened to her? After a few seconds of intense thinking, a creature stopped in front of Jock. The Electrike smiled.

"Would you look at that, our little Lassie evolved, is that right?"

"That is correct, Jock." Lady sat in front of her friend, trying to look as much ladylike as possible. While she was an Eevee, she looked cute, but a bit funny as well, doing this. Something like a little girl trying out her mother's high-heeled shoes. But now, as an Espeon, she looked elegant and simply...

"You're beautiful now, Lassie." Jock couldn't help but blush a little. Even though he knew her since she was little and always thought of her as a baby sister, he had to admit she had grown into a fine Lady. He coughed and even let out a small spark to snap out. Lady giggled at his behavior.

"Has Trusty seen you yet?" Mentioned Pokemon also lived in the neighborhood. He was Jock's closest, if not the only friend beside Lady.

"No, but we could go to him to say hi." The newly evolved Espeon was excited. She finally achieved the goal that was both hers and Jim's and Darling's as well. One could easily see great pride practically radiating from her.

The two friends found Trusty, a Torkoal, asleep in the sunniest spot he could find. They just observed him in silence for a while. He was dreaming and in his dreams he was tracking criminals alongside some of the best police officers. That was what Lady was told, anyways. But she always wondered why he had that exact dream, as well as why it was so important not to wake him up from it.

"You see, Lassie..." Lady jumped a bit from the sudden sound of Jock's voice. "I don't know if letting him dream is a smart choice, but..." He looked at his oldest friend, who was snoring quietly, occasionally releasing small clouds of white smoke."But you see, his father and all of his ancestors from father's side were Herdier, Pokemon trained especially for the police. He really wants to track down criminals as well, but he lacks speed and a strong sense of smell." Jock whispered the last few words.

Lady looked at the Torkoal again. He looked happy in his sleep. Actually, he looked happy most of the time, but who could have guessed he had such a background. No matter, she decided she wouldn't treat him differently from before. He was a good friend, after all.

"See for yourself, Lassie." The Electrike pointed at a small Wurple crawling right in front of Trusty's nose. Slowly, the Torkoal got up, stuck his nose into the ground and began to follow the Worm Pokemon. It was impossible to tell whether he was awake or not. The little Wurmple quickly realized it was in no danger at all. It was "escaping" from Trusty a few minutes and then suddenly dove into a hole in the ground. Trusty kept going and crashed into a tree.

"Trusty, are you all right?" Lady rushed to his side. Jock took a deep breath and almost cried. This was humiliating. No one deserved this.

"Of course, I'm all right! Now, where did it go? Where? Where?" Trusty rotated on the spot, muttering some unrecognizable words to himself and releasing smoke from the hole on his back. Lady started coughing and then Torkoal noticed the big change.

"Why, if it isn't miss Lady?" The Espeon looked as proud as she possibly could. She was proud of herself and it was wonderful to see that their friends are happy for her.

"The time flies, my dear old Trusty." Jock sat next to the Torkoal, so that both of them were facing Lady. "Look at her now, what a fine young woman she turned into."

"Yeah, as my grandpappy, Ol' Reliable used to say...Now, I don't recollect if I ever mentioned Ol' Reliable before?" His words reminded Lady of extremely chewy food. He spoke so slowly like he wants to stress every movement of his mouth.

"Yeah, you have mentioned him, Laddie." Jock sighed. His friend was getting really old and lately he was showing more signs of memory loss than ever. Little Electrike couldn't imagine what it would be without this clumsy, but loyal Torkoal. They were friends their whole lives. Trying to think of something less horrifying, he turned to Lady, who was checking out her reflection in Trusty's water bowl. Yes, fire-types need to drink as well.

"So, Lassie, since you're a psychic type now, would you mind showing us some of your new powers?" He smiled, but that was just to hide his concern about Trusty.

"Why, Jock, you can't just ask miss Lady to do this sort of things for your amusement. Where are your manners, friend?" Torkoal released some smoke again. He wasn't really mad at Jock. he was just very...pedant when it came to manners and rules.

"It is perfectly fine and normal to ask that, Jock, but you see, I only just evolved and the truth is..." She lowered her voice to the barely audible level. "I still don't know how to use them."

"Miss Lady ma'am, I'm sure you'll master them in no time." Trusty put on his biggest smile. He was always so supportive.

"I really hope so." Lady's eyes suddenly had a small trace of doubt in them. "Trusty, Jock...would you mind if I tried one of my powers right now?"

Her friends nodded. Espeon took a deep breath and the gem on her forehead sparkled a bit. Her eyes turned blue and she faced Trusty's water bowl, trying to lift it with her power. The green object rose a fer centimeters, then suddenly fell down, spilling some of its content.

"Oh, Trusty, I am so sorry for this. I shouldn't have tried it just yet."

"It is all right, miss Lady, ma'am. You are still young, you have to try out everything you can do. Nothing can be done without practice." Saying that, the Torkoal faced the sky and used Fire Spin. It was truly beautiful, especially considering the fact this was one of the moments he didn't pretend to be a Herdier. Jock almost cried out of happiness. He quickly responded by sending a Discharge attack to collide with the flames. Finally, Lady sent her Shadow Ball, to break the combination into millions of sparkles. They smiled at each other. They knew they'd always be the best of friends.

"Lady, where are you? Lady?" The Espeon heard the voice of Jim Dear. He was returning home from work. She waved goodbye with her tail to her friends and rushed to race her master to the porch. She was always the winner. When she was still a baby, Jim would let her win, but now there was no chance for the human to win. Especially if Lady used Quick Attack.

"You get faster every day, my dear." Jim smiled, exhausted, at his Pokemon. Then he held the door for her, even though there were small doors just for her. "Ladies first. Let's get inside, Daniel sent me some ideas for your training. You'll have to learn some psychic-type moves now, right?"

Lady was excited about this. She ran to greet Darling and found the most comfortable place between the two armchairs, Jim Dear's and Darling's.

"Let's see. I have a list of recommended moves here and I think she needs to know at least one status move." Jim said this trying to sound important. Daniel at the Training Center told him some reasons why is that such a good idea, but he completely forgot.

"This all sound so great, Jim Dear." Darling took the list of the moves. "I like this one, Morning Sun."

"Nice pick, Darling. You see, Espeon if one of the very few Pokemon who can learn that move." Daniel had told him the exact number, but Jim's memory wasn't always something to be trusted.

"What do you say, Lady?" Darling petted her and showed her the picture of some butterfly-like Pokemon using the move. Lady nodded, smiling happily.

"And that leaves us with a psychic-type move. I mean, she can't be a psychic type without knowing a move of that type. Let's see..." Jim and Darling were looking through the attacks. Lady remembered the attack she tried to use earlier. She let out a quiet cry and pointed to the picture of round, pink Pokemon whose eyes were glowing blue.

"So, Psychic is your choice, Lady?" Lady nodded a few times, looking happier than ever. Both of her masters knew there was just no point in persuading her to learn some other attack. Jim's favorite was Zen Headbutt, while Darling hoped Lady would pick Psybeam. But everything she picked for herself was always fine with them. maybe they even spoiled her a bit.

Over the next month, Lady surpassed everyone's expectations, learning the moves in almost no time. Of course, there was still room for improvement, but her results were more than pleasing. She was just so perfectly happy. Life could hardly be better than that.

* * *

At first, Tramp was simply disappointed. He had no idea how boring these fancy parts can actually be. Everything was clean and tidy and there was just no fun in exploring something that was in such an order. But still, there were few things that were making him stay. At first, he was very careful about not being seen but then he realized that most of the people didn't care at all. The truth was, not many of them could tell Pokemon of one type from those of another type, so they had no idea that Tramp was, in fact, a dark type, which meant almost absolute freedom for the Umbreon. As long as he stayed away from the Pokemon catchers.

Of course, there were others, the ones who could tell right away what kind of Pokemon Tramp actually was. Most of them were really angry with all the rules about so called evil types, so they fed the Umbreon regularly, as a sign of protest. He quickly learned where to find truly delicious food. Some of those people cooked even better than Tony.

Even though life wasn't as interesting as it was at home, something kept Tramp there for a month. Then he realized what it was. Many humans knew about him, but what about their well guarded Pokemon pets? He really wished to meet one of them. Probably just for the fun of it. Maybe it'll be a pretty girl? Tramp smiled at that idea. He could always get any girl he wanted. With happy thoughts, he searched the backyards, in hopes of finding a good company.


End file.
